President Murtaza Rakhimov congratulated Bashkirs on the Constitution Day. According to him, the Constitution, adopted in 1993, "made it possible to implement independent economic and social policy and to realise its own model of reforms in the interests of Bashkortostan's multi-national population." In 2002, the Constitution Day in Bashkiria was marked by the renovation of the fundamental law of the republic. The Bashkir State Assembly recently adopted the law "On the Introduction of Amendments and Supplements to the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan", implying that the President would be the head of state and government. The bicameral parliament is transformed into a one-chamber one, and the number of deputies is reduced by 50 per cent - to 120 people. Deputies will be elected for five years and will work on the permanent basis.

The new edition of the Bashkir Constitution meets modern legal standards and is the most important stage in further development of genuine federalism in the Russian Federation, the Bashkir president said.